Four Reflections from the Fourth Editon of Headfunk

Community: Our first reflection comes from an audience member, “I loved the community element, so impressive, the love, happiness and confidence that it gave the performers.” We’re really proud that over a third of our performers at Headfunk 2023 were dancing on stage for the first time ever! But Headfunk isn’t just about the final performance, it’s really about the journey we go on together, learning, connecting and sharing with each other.

Above: When asked “What do you do when the world gets too loud?” The young people of Holyrood estate in Southampton all shared that putting their headphones on helped them feel calmer. We’ve been working with these young people for several years now as part of our We Are Holyrood project.

Noise: This year’s event was based around the theme of noise, and how live, digital or internal noise can impact our mental health. The stories created were personal, all created from the performers’ lived experiences, and invited you to reflect, pause and join in the joy.

Above: FuzzyLogic performed their latest piece, Attention! A piece that explores whether we are aware of what grabs our attention. It’s a piece about screen time and consumption, which cleverly uses hand held lights as a representation for our mobile phones.

Below: Watch a selection of clips from the performances at Headfunk 2023.

Thanks: The performances were only one part of the event. Outside of the performance space we created a space where local partners could hold conversations and training with audiences around the subject of mental health. We would like to thank We Are Hummingbird, Saints Foundation, ManGang and The Autism Reality Experience for being part of Headfunk 2023 (don’t forget to tap on them to find out more about what they do).

Above: Here’s We Are Hummingbird holding conversations in our event space before the performances.

Below: This is Gem, on stage and part of our adult dance group, The Collective. He’s performing his solo created with Natalie Watson, “Dance Like No one’s Watching”

Fullness: Lastly, we received this really important reflection, and one that we will carry into 2024, “Thank you for showing that dance is for all”.

Thank you to everyone who participated in and attended Headfunk 2023. You can find out more about this event here.

We’re looking forward to seeing how these stories develop as we continue to move forward. If you want to stay up to date with everything that’s happening, please sign up to TeamLogic here.

The ZoieLogic Team